Chiropractor

Michael has started crawling!  It has been amazing!  It took forever but we are excited!  Last week we found out why it took so long. 

Our home teachers came over and we found out one of them is a chiropractor.  He asked about Michael and he took a look at him.  It turns out his sacroiliac joint was out.  He put it back into place for us. 

The chiropractor said that some babies start crawling the same day they have something that big put back into place, but he didn't.  However, he started making progress.  He was getting up on his knees every chance he could, he started pulling up more, and he somehow became even more active than before.  Fast forward to 3 days ago and he started crawling. 

Now it may seem a little crazy that he really had something out.  I was skeptical at first.  How could Michael have his leg out and we not notice?  He didn't seem to be in pain.  He wasn't favoring one leg over the other.  His doctor didn't say anything was wrong.  He just wasn't crawling. 

In retrospect I assume it's been out sometime between when he was 4-8 months.  At 4 months he was rolling around and considered to be ahead of other babies.  He should have sat up on his own around 6 months, but it didn't happen until he was 8 months. 

I learned a valuable lesson.  When you think something is wrong, it probably is.  My quick developing baby got so far behind for "no reason". 

I've been converted to believe that chiropractors can do a lot of what they promise.  When Josh officially gets his job and real insurance we are both going to the chiropractor (if you've ever heard Josh pop some of the things on his body you would send him to one).  I'm still a little wary about whether they can cure things like ADHD, but I guess I'll find out if I ever cross that bridge.

Little Lion

Update on Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapering has been great!!  We've hit a few bump along the way, but overall I've loved it!

 

These are half of Michael's diapers

 

After some experimenting we ended up getting the bumgenius 4.0 diapers.  They have inserts that you stuff inside the diaper.  Meaning when he poops and pees it gets on the diaper, but the poop stays on the diaper.  The pee is soaked up by the insert.  They have worked great for us!  The inserts are microfiber so they are super absorbent.  I've heard that they start to stink after a while, but they are so cheap I don't mind buying a pack of inserts every 6 months.

We still use the first diapers, the gDiapers, we got him, but with the bumgenius inserts.  The inserts that came with the gDiapers leaked like crazy!  The gDiapers are great for when he pees because the insert is right on his bum.  If he pees we can just pull the insert out and put a new insert in.  But if he poops we have to clean the insert and the snap in cover.  So I like to use these later in the day when I think he is done pooping. 

I think people are disgusted about how to clean these, so I will tell you how I do it.  Like I said before the inserts in the bumgenius diapers only get pee on them.  So I just pull these out and throw them in our wastebasket/diaper pail.  If he's only peed I throw the diaper in the pail and call it good. 

If he poops I make sure to take the diaper to the bathroom right away.  I bought a little kitchen scrubbing brush (the $2 plastic ones at Ikea) and it sits in a very diluted solution of bleach in the bathroom.  I grab the top end by the snaps, and the bottom end where it's stretchy and turn it inside out.  I then scrub until the poop is off.  Sometimes I flush halfway through if the diaper was really loaded.  I then hold it over the toilet and let it drip a little.  I bought some of the bumGenius diaper spray and I use that on poopy diapers.  I throw this in the pail with the rest.

After we put Michael to sleep I start a load of laundry.  I use a hot water cycle with an extra rinse.  I put a tiny bit of Tide in and call it good.  When they are done I hang dry both the diapers and inserts. 

It really doesn't take that much time out of my day.  In the morning I grab all of his diapers and stuff them while we play in his room.

Why I won't go back to disposables...

We don't have the biggest stash of cloth diapers.  When I see a coupon for buybuyBaby I go get another one.  Every once in a while Michael ends up in a disposable.  This usually happens at night, or when he has pooped for the 3rd time that day and I sense there is more to come.  The last 2 times I have put Michael in a disposable he has gotten chemical burns on his bum.  Yup, not just a diaper rash, but actual burns!  He bleeds a little and I can see skin peeling off.  I've read that cloth diapers can do that after a while if they aren't washed enough (from the ammonia build-up).  The first time it happened I didn't want to blame either method right away.  But after the second time I knew it was from disposables.  He is still recovering from the last burn. 

I don't know how his bum chemistry changed that much in the last month of us using cloth diapers, but it has!  When I started researching this I found quite a few moms who said their newborns had chemical burns all over them and they couldn't figure it out until they switched to cloth diapers.  I've heard the same about babies with eczema. 

Now I'll be realistic, we will have to use disposables every now and then.  In fact, you can't use bum creams with cloth diapers, so after we discover a chemical burn we put him in a disposable and change him every hour, applying a TON of butt cream.  After a few hours we give him a bath and switch him back to cloth diapers. 

We will also use disposables when someone is watching him.  I don't think many people are comfortable changing a cloth diaper.  Josh and I still try not to do it in public if we can avoid it.  We usually throw the diaper in a bag and deal with it later, but how many people are willing to stuff a poopy diaper in a bag and hand it to you to take home?  So we will just have to load up on the butt cream when we hand him over to anyone, which isn't very often.  We actually enjoy taking Michael on date nights with us now, now that he can eat bread and french fries he is great at any restaurant. 

Sorry if this post just seems to never end!  Anyways, if you've ever had the desire to cloth diaper, do it!  It isn't hard and doesn't take that much time out of your day.  I found out most of my information by looking at a few blogs of cloth diapering moms.  Two of which have twins.  It really isn't that crazy!

A few photos

Zoo Trip

So these pictures are from almost a month ago.  We went to the zoo one day when Josh had a long break between classes.  It was perfect fall weather and we couldn't help but enjoy ourselves!

Looking at the sea lions and seals

The seals kept swimming like this in front of us

If you look close enough you will see the baby leopard

I don't know what he's trying to get at but it's cute

Michael doesn't know what to think about the carousel

Am I crunchy?

Is this me??? Okay, obviously this is a guy, but besides that! 

I read quite a few blogs on babycenter.  Last week I came across one titled Are You Crunchy?  At first I thought it would be funny to see what the questions were like.  When the first question was about making homemade cleaners I got a little scared.  For the time being I don't make homemade cleaners, but I've definitely wanted to.  I continued on cautiously, thinking I might discover something about myself that was possibly life changing.

At the end of the quiz I took a deep breath when I only scored a three (as in not crunchy at all, but not against those that are).  A second wave of fear washed over me, no I don't do most of the things on the list, but how many did I want to at least try?  My score would have been an 8!!! (as in you're crunchy, no doubt about it)

Am I really crunchy?  Is it possible?  I wasn't raised that way at all.  I enjoy McDonalds and Tide, and that isn't about to change....or is it? 

It wasn't too crazy for me to get a three, all it took was cloth diapering (which is going great!), recycling, and making baby food (which I still do on occasion).  But when it came to what I want to do, then it became crazy.  Yes, I have a desire to eat organic (I tried this when we moved back to Salt Lake but Josh really wasn't into it).  I wouldn't mind being vegetarian, but I think I'm more of a meat once a week person.  I would gladly make homemade cleaners, I just haven't done it yet. I would easily compost (this is something I've wanted to do for a while but I'm not willing to pay for a composter).  An extra point came from using cloth wipes which is something I've already decided to try when I get a diaper sprayer, for now it is just a possibility.

I never thought of myself as being a crunchy.  It never seemed like a lifestyle change I could make so quickly.  I've been married barely longer than two years, doesn't something so drastic take a decade at least??  At this rate I could be full on crunchy in the next three years.  Should I be scared?  Amazed?  confused?  Or some combination of all three.  It's identity crisis time!

My Endorsement

Have you ever walked into a store and absolutely loved it?  It doesn't matter what it is, but you just love it?  For a long time mine was Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  I walked in there and wanted everything!  Well I found a new store, buybuyBABY.  Coincidentally they are owned by Bed, Bath, and Beyond...so of course I LOVED it!  Also....my life is currently consumed by babies so why wouldn't I love it??  I've already made a wish-list of things I want:

• More bumGenius diapers.  I bought a few and I want all of them!! The only drawback is they don't have all of the colors at the store, but I still love them
• The iPad protector...even though I don't have an iPad, but the pictures on the package make it look amazing!
• Aden + Anais baby blankets, even though they seem very thin
• Sofie's giraffe, even though I think they are overpriced
• One of the fifty different slings
• One of the hundred diaper bags
• The adorable monkey plates
• A swing
• The Ferrari walker
• Beaba spoons
• ....basically everything else in the store!!

Some of my list is unrealistic, especially the spoons...who would pay $25 for 6 baby spoons?!?  But the list grows every time I walk into the store.  Josh thought I was obsessed...until I took him with me last night and he loved it too.  If we have enough kids I think we will own almost everything in that store.

11 Months

It's a little blurry but I couldn't resist posting this cute, crazy face!

I can't believe it's been almost a year!  Time is whizzing past.  Michael has been pretty busy this month.  Michael has:

• Pulled up for the first time
• Started pushing himself up on his knees from his stomach
• Pushed himself up to sitting from his tummy

I know he will start crawling soon! 

Today we got some good news.  After months of seeing doctors and specialists about Michael's throat his specialist told us today that he believes the white lump in his mouth is benign.  It's such a relief to us!  Michael is too little to be put under for an "elective" surgery to see if the lump is cancerous or not.  Since it hasn't changed in the last 3 months the doctor is pretty certain it isn't anything to worry about. 

Now to planning his first birthday party...

Pros and Cons of Cloth Diapering

So I've kept up with cloth diapering during the day so far.  It's been a little different, but it's not as much of a change as I expected.  So here are my pros and cons:

Pros:

• Any stains came right off. Michael has managed to poop only in one insert (not that he's only pooped once, but he seems to know which one to poop in) and it look pretty white!

• The peep on inserts don't smell at all
• I can hang dry all of them
• He hasn't pooped through a cloth diaper!!! This means I haven't cleaned up a blowout in the last week!

Cons:

• The one pooped on insert does have a little bit of a smell.  I guess I don't have the right detergent so I'll have to try another
• Cloth diapers aren't as absorbant.  He has peed through them twice
• They won't last through the night

Overall I'm not sure what to do.  I might stick with both.  If he only wears one disposable a night it would take over 7 months to go through one box, which is really cheap.  For now we are still in the trial phase.  Next I need to find a detergent that works better. 

Cloth Diaper Experiment

When I was first pregnant I wanted to use cloth diapers.  Not because of all the environmental reasons (which I always countered with using more water to wash them), but because they were cheaper and intrigued me.  The reason I didn't get them is because 1) the initial cost is expensive 2) I had no idea what I was doing 3) I wasn't comfortable with the idea of touching baby poop quite yet. 

Fast forward to now:

• I'm over the baby poop thing.  Especially since Michael has a blow out every other day.
• I've done a lot more research.  I looked at reviews, mom blogs about cloth diapering, and
• Michael's cloth diapers will pay themselves off in about 6 months, and he will be in them for 2 more years.  Elli's will pay themselves off in the first 2 months. 

But I didn't go crazy.  We are just in a trial phase right now.  I bought Michael two diapers and 6 inserts. 

Here is one of his little diapers.  Cute right?

Here are the little pouches inside them.  They are supposed to act as a waterproof shield. 

Here are the inserts.  The label said to wash and dry them 3 times before putting them on him to increase their absorbency. 

I'm excited to try them!